PSA: Horox Outfitters (2024)

I’m posting this review to give the community a little information for the greater good. I know it’s going to spur conversations about paying too much for a hunt or chastising me about not doing my research. I’m willing to take my lumps in order for the next hunter to not have the same fate.

My father and I booked a muzzleloader hunt with Horox outfitters (Josh Horrocks) for the week of Sept 30-Oct 4, 2019 for $21,000 per hunter. It’s 60,000 acres in a great unit in Utah, and those tags come with a hefty price tag. There were numerous issues with the hunt, but the biggest issue was the deception on the size of elk we were going to be hunting. My dad spoke to Epic outdoors and was told they have bulls 330-340 average up to 370, which Josh Horrocks confirmed on our first call. He told me numerous times that he had huge elk and that they get better every year. I specifically asked why his website states 285-340 with average 320 and he said it was old and he has much bigger bulls now. His exact words were “I’m going to show you the best elk hunting of your life”. He also told me on the drive up that he had a “couple of 350+ bulls lined up for us”. From the start I could tell something was off. For 3 days all of the bulls we glassed were 260-310 (2 hunters and 3 guides all working together). Maybe one was 320, but it was a stretch. There were many bulls on the property, but all little bulls with plenty of cows. I don’t expect to show up to a place and just shoot a 350+, but for that amount of money you should at least see something decent. Imagine my surprise when Mr. Horox decided to have a conversation with his team one night within earshot and I hear him say to his guides that they haven’t seen any 350 bulls ALL YEAR. I heard him talk about how worried he was that there weren’t any big elk or mule deer on the property and that he needed to “pull something out of a hat.”

For $21,000 you expect to see big elk. Not the small bulls we saw all week (260s-310s). In my opinion they have killed off all the mature bulls and he is still charging premium dollars for something that’s not there. When asking around I found that he books 16 gun hunters and 3-4 bow hunters every fall. Gun hunters all have around 100% success (but small) and bow hunters about 30%.

For that amount of money you also expect some basic amenities. I don’t expect to be fed expired food and leftovers for $21,000 (which I was). There are a host of other things I could nitpick over, but overall this was the most disappointing hunt my Dad or I have ever been on.

I reached out to Josh and told him the exact information I’m posting in this review. He simply stated (verbatim)-
“Was hoping you guys would have killed some bigger bulls we whacked a couple pigs after you left wish you guys would of held out for something bigger for sure” No apology, no explanation, simply dismissive.

I asked for pictures of these “pigs” and they were the same size bulls we had seen all week (probably a 300 and a 310). My Dad and I actually recognized both of them as bulls we had passed up.

After doing some research upon returning home, I realize this is not the first time something like this has happened with Horox outfitters. Hindsight is 20/20 and although my money and elk season is lost, I hope this review will save someone else the heartache. I don’t like to post a review like this, but I don’t want this to happen to another hunter. I also feel like we need to protect the integrity of the sport.

Feel free to PM me for all of our scouting pictures, pictures of what we killed, and what Josh Horror considers a “pig” elk for $21,000.